Identification of Lunar Organic Compounds and Their Sources

Introduction: Organic compounds may survive beneath the surface or at the poles of the Moon. If so, at least a fraction of such compounds were probably delivered by asteroids and possibly comets. To the extent that inputs of carbon from different sources might vary as a function of geographic location and composition of crustal materials, future studies can advance our understanding of the origins and cycling of organic compounds, carbon, and other biologically significant elements. For example, because the ancient highlands retain pre-3.9 billion-year-old history of the lunar crust, they might contain relatively greater abundances of meteoritic and cometary material than mare basalts that formed later. Earlier investigations indicated that highlands materials might contain more carbon than mare basalts, and such carbon might have meteoritic origins [1]. Polar environments also might be vastly superior for preserving the chemical nature of meteoritic and cometary inputs, not only as water but also as organic and other compounds.